Tomorrow’s leaders: The name that drew the...

Tomorrow’s leaders: The name that drew the biggest cheer at the graduation rites for USC’s Business School was that of Joe Isuzu. A student responded by raising his arms above his head in a victory salute and flashing an extremely sincere smile, even though the name of the onetime TV car salesman had been slipped into the ceremony as a prank.

But . . . there was nothing counterfeit about the lei worn by another graduating business student. It was made of real dollar bills.

OK, let’s see some I.D., Mr. Mayor: Fidel Vargas, the newly elected mayor of Baldwin Park, was at first denied entrance to his own inaugural party the other day. “The doorman at this nightclub carded me and I’d left my wallet in the car,” Vargas recalled. “I told him, ‘I’m the mayor,’ and he looked at me as if to say, ‘Yeah, right.’ ” Vargas, who was eventually permitted inside, is one of the youngest mayors in the nation. He’s 23.

Working overtime: Blain Skinner of Inglewood notes that no sooner had Police Chief Daryl Gates finished his televised press conference Friday evening than he appeared in an episode of “Hunter,” a TV cop show. It was a rerun, inasmuch as the program has been retired.

List of the day: Age-old myths about childbirth mentioned in L.A. Baby magazine:

1--The more morning sickness experienced by the expectant mother, the healthier the growing fetus.

2--Heartburn during pregnancy indicates that the baby will be born with a thick head of hair.

3--Brown blemishes on the face of a mom-to-be mean she’ll give birth to a girl.

4--A pregnant woman “who shows in her backside and hips” will have a boy, but if she’s “carrying in front” she’ll have a girl.

5--Stepping over a baby will stunt its growth.

6--A high forehead or long earlobes on a baby signify exceptional intelligence.

Those dueling signs: Richard Korngute found a sign in Santa Monica indicating that parking is prohibited three days per week, not to mention daily. Leanne Twidwell, meanwhile, spotted one in Inglewood where parking is permitted during some hours on Friday, though when is anybody’s guess.

Untimely: Noontime pedestrians on 1st Street might have wondered if they were passing through several time zones Monday. At 12:30 p.m., the county courthouse’s outside clock at 1st and Hill streets said it was 10:30--it’s been frozen at that time for weeks. Meanwhile, the electronic clock at 1st and San Pedro streets said it was 2:30.

Unexpectedly timely: We wonder how many laughs Danny (“The Penguin”) DeVito will get in the scene in the “Batman” sequel when he torches several cars and buildings while yelling, “Burn, baby, burn!”--the remark made famous during the 1965 Watts riots.

Now it can be told: Robert Dundas of Covina reports that he spotted Elvis in a photo of National Guard troops patrolling L.A.

miscelLAny:

A small store in Glendale offers such goods as black-powder firearms, accessories for Civil War re-enactments, cowboy and mountain man paraphernalia, handmade and antique knives and knife-making supplies. Its name: the House of Muzzle Loading.